Smartsearch.pw Redirect (Mac)

What is smartsearch.pw?

smartsearch.pw is another fake web search engine that, according to the developers, enhances the browsing experience by generating improved results. Its appearance barely differs from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other legitimate search engines. Therefore, many users believe that smartsearch.pw is also legitimate.

In fact, developers promote this site using rogue set-ups that modify browser options without permission. In addition, smartsearch.pw continually gathers information relating to web browsing activity.

Rogue set-ups target Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Immediately after infiltration, they assign smartsearch.pw as the default search engine, homepage, and new tab URL browser options.

Furthermore, set-ups stealthily install a number of "helper objects" - third party applications and/or browser plug-ins used to reassign browser options when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, although these changes may seem insignificant, users are unable to revert them until "helper objects" are eliminated.

Ultimately, users are automatically redirected to smartsearch.pw when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. These unwanted redirects significantly diminish the browsing experience. In addition, smartsearch.pw and "helper objects" record information relating to browsing activity.

Collected data (IP addresses, website URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc.) typically includes personal details that are shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who generate revenue by misusing private information. Therefore, information tracking might lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft.

If you encounter redirects to smartsearch.pw, immediately eliminate all suspicious applications and browser plug-ins. The key to computer safety is caution.

Threat Summary:

Name	smartsearch.pw browser hijacker
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

The Internet is full of fake fake search engines that share similarities with smartsearch.pw The list of examples includes (but it is not limited to) search-mate.com, search.bittsearch.com, and sleepshadow.com. All claim to enhance the browsing experience, however, these claims are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

Fake search engines deliver no real value for regular users, cause unwanted redirects, and gather sensitive information. Some generate intrusive advertisements (coupons, banners, and similar) and false search results leading to dubious websites. Therefore, using any fake search engine can lead to various computer infections.

How did smartsearch.pw install on my computer?

As mentioned above, smartsearch.pw is promoted using rogue download/installation set-ups. This deceptive marketing method is called "bundling". Developers know that users often rush download/installation processes and skip steps.

Therefore, they hide information regarding modification of browser settings within "Custom/Advanced" settings (or other sections) of these procedures. By skipping steps, many users inadvertently grant set-ups permission to modify browser options, expose their systems to risk of various infections, and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) are also distributed using the "bundling" method and intrusive advertisements (which lead to malicious websites or execute scripts that stealthily download and install PUPs/malware). Therefore, to prevent PUP infiltration, be very cautious when downloading/installing software and browsing the Internet in general.

Select "Custom/Advanced" settings and carefully analyze each window of the download/installation dialogs. During the procedure, opt-out of all additionally-included programs and decline offers to download/install them.

We strongly recommend that you download your programs from official sources only (via direct download links) rather than using third party downloaders/installers. These tools are monetized by promoting PUPs, and thus should not be used.

Note that intrusive ads are designed to seem legitimate, but often redirect to untrustworthy websites such as adult dating, pornography, gambling, survey, and so on.

Most are delivered by potentially unwanted adware-type programs. If you encounter suspicious redirects, immediately eliminate all dubious applications and browser plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with browser hijackers, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Deceptive website promoting a fake Adobe Flash Player updater that promotes smartsearch.pw:

IMPORTANT NOTE! Rogue setups/apps that promote the smartsearch.pw website are designed to create a new device profile. Therefore, before taking any further removal steps, perform these actions:
1) Click the "Preferences" icon in the menu bar and select "Profiles".

2) Select the "AdminPrefs" profile and delete it.

3) Perform a full system scan with Combo Cleaner anti-virus suite.

After performing these actions, you can proceed with further removal steps for this browser hijacker.

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is smartsearch.pw?
• STEP 1. Remove smartsearch.pw related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove smartsearch.pw redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove smartsearch.pw browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove smartsearch.pw homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:

smartsearch.pw redirect removal:

Remove smartsearch.pw-related potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select “Applications”. In the applications folder, look for “MPlayerX”,“NicePlayer”, or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove browser hijacker-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/

In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:

In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/

In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the browser hijackers, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove browser hijackers from Internet browsers

Remove Safari browser hijackers:

Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the "Set to Current Page" button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Change your default search engine:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "Search" tab. Here you will find a drop-down menu labeled "Search engine:" Simply select your preferred search engine from the drop-down list.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove Google Chrome browser hijackers:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable the malicious extension (if present), look for a browser hijacker URL below the "Open a specific or set of pages" option. If present, click on the three vertical dots icon and select "Remove".

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for a browser hijacker URL, when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Delete".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

Change your homepage

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Settings", in the opened window disable malicious extension (if present), remove the browser hijacker URL and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type "about:config" and press Enter. Click "Accept the Risk and Continue".

In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled". Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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